The Furuno SC-110 Satellite Compass is a marine heading sensor that uses a three-antenna GPS configuration to determine accurate vessel heading, position, and motion data. The complete system consists of the SC-1203F Antenna Unit, SC-1101 Processor Unit, and SC-502 Display Unit. The tri-antenna arrangement helps reduce the effects of vessel pitch, roll, and yaw.
Processor Unit – SC-1101
The SC-1101 Processor Unit is the central processing unit of the SC-110 Satellite Compass. It receives data from the three GPS antenna receivers, processes the satellite signals and heading information, and calculates the vessel’s heading and navigation/motion data. The processor also provides heading and navigation data outputs to other bridge equipment.
It can provide data such as:
- Vessel heading (HDT/HDM)
- Rate of turn (ROT)
- Position / latitude and longitude
- Course over ground (COG)
- Speed over ground (SOG)
- Pitch and roll
- Set and drift information
- UTC/time data
The SC-110 provides multiple programmable heading/navigation data outputs for connection to equipment such as Radar/ARPA, ECDIS, AIS, autopilot, satellite communication systems, sonar and chart plotters.
Antenna Unit – SC-1203F
The SC-1203F is the three-antenna GPS receiver unit mounted on the vessel. It receives GPS satellite signals and supplies the necessary satellite measurement data to the processor. The three-antenna configuration enables the system to determine the vessel’s heading while reducing the influence of ship motion.
The antenna should have a clear view of the sky and be installed where the vessel’s structures do not significantly obstruct satellite reception.
Main Function
In simple terms:
SC-1203F Antenna → receives GPS satellite signals → SC-1101 Processor → calculates heading/navigation data → SC-502 Display & connected bridge equipment.
The SC-110 is designed to provide fast and stable heading information without relying on a conventional magnetic compass or gyrocompass. Furuno specifies heading accuracy of approximately ±0.6° (95% static accuracy) in its SC-110 documentation.
